26/03/2024
A Lesson For Nigeria & To All Nigerians🇳🇬
I could recall in the year 2014, about ten years ago, Mubi the biggest commercial town in Adamawa State, was thrown into chaos and topsy-turvy the day our common enemy the "Boko Harams" descended on them and the people found themselves running helter skelter and scattered for their lives. The terrorists shot sporadically, killing a lot of people while those who could escape jumped into any available car to run for safety.
Christians, Muslims, Igbos, Yorubas, Hausas and any other tribe or religion, jumped into any vehicle that was heading outside of the town. Both Soldiers and Police scampered and scrambled into any moving trucks together with Civilians, begging to be saved also. Hundreds of people who could not get a vehicle ran into the hills. In their frenetic and frantic effort to stay alive, no one paid attention to anybody's religion or ethnicity before asking them for help or helping them to stay alive.
It was a community of people, united by their desire to escape the common enemy the "Boko Harams" that hunted them all without discrimination, ethnicity and religion vanished, all they were left with was their humanity. Those climbing the hills stayed together, helping one another stay on their feet as they all tried to survive.
The most interesting part of the narrative is that the then Chief of Defence Staff and former Chief of Air Staff, Late. Air Marshall Alex Badeh l(rtd) is from the same town of Mubi. It was reported that few hours before the attack, helicopters flew in and evacuated his family members from the town of Mubi. The Chief of Defence staff by the way, is the most senior Military Officer in Nigeria and he controls the Army, Navy and Airforce.
Before that sad event took place, someone from Mubi would have boasted that the Chief of Defence Staff is from their home town, but on the day that it mattered the most, he evacuated only his family members and abandoned everyone else to their fate. It means he had information of the impending attack and as the most senior Military Commander, he did not fly into the town to lead his men to battle to defend his community. He quietly saved only his family and left even the soldiers without an inspiring Commander to motivate them to engage the terrorists and defend his community.
One lesson all Nigerians must learn from this story is that as people, all we have is our neighbours. When you need some help at home, you knock on the door of your neighbour. The President, Governor, Senator or Minister is not there to help you. Why then should you continue to fight your neighbour because of a man or woman who cares only about his own family? Our elites may deceive us about sharing the same religion or ethnicity with us, but times without number, they have proven that they do not care. We have been fools, killing one another on the basis of religion and ethnicity while they stay united across all the divides and plunder our wealth. The time has come for us to rise, educate one another and unite to fight our biggest common enemy. The bad Politicians are our enemies and not the poor struggling men and women in our neighbourhoods.
What now will the people of Mubi boast about as the gain of having their son as the Chief of Defence Staff? If you go to Daura where Buhari the immediate past President of Nigeria comes from, there are still many people who live in excruciating and abject poverty! There are still a lot of poverty and suffering in the hometowns of all our Governors, Ministers, Parliamentarian and Former Presidents, while they and their families live in scandalous affluence and wealth.
The then Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Management Hadi Srika during Buhari's regime spent over 5Billion Naira on fire fighter trucks. That money can end the poverty of several communities in his State. The time to throw away the sentiments is now! Support only a man or woman who has a just heart and will serve everyone and every community regardless of their Ethnical class or religion. The moment anyone begins to talk to you about religion or ethnicity, reject him summarily! We need leaders who will unite us because our shared humanity is greater than any differences between us. And if someone does something wrong or fails in Governance, do not support them simply because they're your own.
©️Elisha Nuhu Sabo
